Cathay Pacific Reports Traffic Figures for
September 2011

Cathay Pacific’s and Dragonair’s combined
traffic figures for September 2011 show a year-on-year increase in
passenger numbers that was below the increase in capacity. Cargo
and mail tonnage showed a decline for the sixth consecutive month.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of
2,255,605 passengers last month – up 3.5% on the same month last
year – while the passenger load factor fell by 2.1 percentage
points to 79.7%. Capacity for the month, measured in available
seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 9.8%. For the year to date, the
number of passengers carried increased by 2.1% while capacity was
up by 9.1%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue
Management James Tong said, “In September we saw a falloff in
demand in the back end, as expected after the summer peak. The
Japan route continued to see a recovery, though China was down
compared to last year due to the Shanghai Expo effect in 2010.
Premium business held up well in September in terms of volume and
yield, with currency movements working in our favour, but the
outlook is getting more uncertain as companies begin to review
their travel policies in light of the economic situation.”

The two airlines carried 131,443 tonnes of cargo
and mail in September, a 10.1% decrease compared to the same month
last year, while the cargo and mail load factor was down 5
percentage points to 64.8%. Capacity, measured in available
cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was down by 0.8%, while cargo and
mail tonne kilometres flown were down by 7.9%. For the year to
date, tonnage has dropped by 6.4% compared to a capacity increase
of 9.8%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales &
Marketing James Woodrow said, “On the cargo side there was no
significant change from the situation in August, with the key Hong
Kong and China markets both remaining soft and demand to long-haul
destinations, particularly Europe, below expectations. There is no
sign yet of the traditional year-end peak beginning. On the
positive side, intra-Asia traffic is holding up well and flights
from most destinations into Hong Kong have been relatively full.
We have recently launched freighter services to Chongqing and
Chengdu to boost our presence in the growing Western China
market.”